Buckle



MamZQ, 1923.- 1,449,189

- c. E. PETERSON BUCKLE Filed. r. 29, .1922

- ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 2%, 1%23.

CARL E. PETERSON, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE.

Application filed April 29, 1922. Serial No. 557,293.

To (6 i071 0m it may concern Be it known that I, CARL E. Prrnnson, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Bridgeport, county ofFair-field, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Buckles, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to an improved buckle which consist-s of a mainbuckle part of any usual type adapted to be fastened to one end of astrap and to adjustably secure the other end of the strap, such as theends of a belt and the like, and having a face plate, which face platehas no function as to holding the strap, but which forms an ornamentaland secure means for covering the front of the buckle to improve itsappearance, and furthermore, to prevent parts of the clothing or partsof the hand from being damaged by engagement with the tongue or otherprotruding parts of the main buckle.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigure 1 is a front view of one form of my improved buckle. Figure 2 isa similar view with the face plate swung to an open position. Figure 3is a section on line 3-3 in Figure 1. Figure 4t is a front view of amodified form of buckle with its face plate swung to open position.Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through Figure 4, taken on the line5-5, Figure 4, and Figure 6 is a back view of an improved buckle,showing a still further modification.

The main buckle part, which can be of any desired form, is shown inFigures 2 and 3 as being a buckle made of wire, the main portion 10consisting of the side bars 11, a center bar 12, a front bar 13 and arear bar 1a, the terms front and rear being simply used to differentiatethe opposite ends of the buckle. On the center bar 12 is a tongue 15which swings on the center bar and is adapted to pass through the holesin a strap to hold it in position. While a buckle using a tongue isillustrated, it will be evident that other forms of buckle can be usedfor holding the strap.

The face plate 16 is adapted, when closed, to give the buckle theappearance of an ornamental, substantially oblong fastening andcompletely covers the buckle and is readily removable from at least apart of the main buckle portion so as to permit the adjustment of thestrap and its disengagement from the tongue 15.

In Figures 1, 2 and 8 I show the face plate 16 hinged at one end byhaving the material of the face plate bent back to form a sleeve 17which embraces the back bar 14 so that the main buckle portion and theface plate are hinged together, and the front end is yieldingly held inclosed position by the fingers 18 on the end of the lateral strip 19,these lingers projecting so that when the buckle is closed the fingersare snapped over the side bars 11 adjacent to the front bar 13, as willbe clearly seen from Figure 3. The strip 19 can be held in position bysoldering or other means, or by folding over the part 20 from. the frontend of the face plate, and crimping it down at its edge so that it holdsthe strip substantially rigid against the back face of the face plate.

To permit the face plate to be tightly pressed against the buckle theend of the tongue 15 does notcontact with the part 20 because the part20 is provided with a cut away portion 21. Vhen the face plate is swungopen, as shown in Figure 2, the belt can be adjusted because the mainbuckle portion 16 is free to be manipulated for the adjustment of theend 22 of the strap or belt, the other end of which can be secured,

as at 23, to the center bar of the buckle. When the parts are adjustedas desired, all that needs to be done is to swing the face plate to itsclosed position and it clicks or snaps into holding engagement with themain buckle part by reason of the fingers 1S engaging the main buckle,the main buckle being thus entirely concealed, since the top part of theface plate is provided with rearwardily projecting flanges 24L at thetop and 25 at the bottom. The fingers 18 are within the top and bottomflanges and are thus concealed and also prevent any distortion of theflanges when the parts are snapped together. This leaves the flangessmooth and even.

In Figure l I show modified form in which a substantially narrow bucklecan be provided for, being not much wider than the strap to which it issecured, this buckle being of the cast type, the main buckle part 26having the front bar 27, the center bar 28 and the rear bar 29 securedto the side bars 30, the front bar having lingers 31 pro jecting fromthe front thereof, the face plate 16 being hinged by the sleeve 17 tothe rear bar 29, the face plate on the front end having the strip 19With its spring fingers18, the spring fingers, however, being arrangedso as to engageth'e fingers 31 on the front bar 27 of the main buckleportion. The

flanges Qt'and 25 can thus be made slightly Wider than the distancebetween the outside edges of the side bars 30. In Figure 6 I show astill further modification Which requires no out out portion tocompensate for the end of the tongue 15,

with means therein for holding the ends of v a strap, and a face platehinged at one end to the buckle, said face plate having top andbottomflanges and springears secured to the face plate Within theflanges to engage the other end of the buckle so as to hold the plate onthe front of the buckle.

2. A buckle comprising a main buckle with means therein for holding theend of a strap, and a face plate having inwardly extending flanges onits top and bottom edges and being bent into, a sleeve at one end sothat it will embrace one bar of the buckle, and having fingers securedto the face plate independent of and Within the flanges, said fingersbeing adapted to yield and to embrace the front end of the buckle sothat the face plate is yieldingly held in position.

3. A buckle comprising a main buckle with means therein for holding theend of a strap, a face plate having inwardly extending flanges on itstop and bottom edges and being bent into a sleeve at one end so that itwill embrace one bar of the buckle, and a strip of metal on the innerface of the face plate and having its ends bent to form fingers adaptedto yieldingly engage the front end of the buckle, the front end of theplate being bent over to hold said strip in position.

4. A buckle comprising a main buckle, a face plate hinged to one end ofthe buckle and a lateral strip secured to the buckle said strip havingspring fingers on its end. and Within the top and bottom edges of theface plate, said fingers being disposed so as to engage the sides of thebuckle to hold the face plate shut.

In testimony that I claim the. foregoing,

I have hereto set my hand, this 28th day of April, 1922.

C. E. PETERSON.

